SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has finally revealed plans to develop a new store on the site of a derelict pub in Oxford.

The company has submitted two applications to replace the Fox and Hounds pub in Abingdon Road with an Express store.

Neighbours of the pub had spent months calling on the supermarket giant to make its plans clear for the site.

The business has now lodged two planning applications with Oxford City Council, one including housing and one without.

The applications mean Tesco plans to open four new stores in the city, including the redevelopment of another derelict pub site, The Friars in Marston.

The Fox and Hound, on the junction of Abingdon Road and Weirs Lane, closed in 2007 and was bought by the supermarket chain the following year.

But in July 2009, the empty pub was badly damaged by fire.

In December, residents began calling for Tesco to make its plans for the boarded-up building clear, but the company said it was still working on the development costs.

The first option is for a two-storey building with customer parking.

The second plan submitted is for a larger scheme which includes a three-storey building along with four flats and parking for customers and residents.

The Rev Jane Sherwood has been pressing the supermarket firm to bring forward plans for the site.

She said: “I am not promoting Tesco but something needs to be done with the site.”

Ms Sherwood, who is the vicar at nearby St Luke’s Church in Canning Crescent, said the plan to have some housing on the site was preferable.

She said: “We have been kept in the loop on the plans and were aware Tesco were taking things forward.

“I do have concerns about the traffic at that corner and how it will affect local shops.

“It is not a straightforward issue.”

She added: “We just want something as it has been left in a half burnt-down state for so long.”

Tesco is also planning new stores at the former Solus Lighting shop in St Aldate’s and at the former Borders store in Magdalen Street in the city centre.

Tesco spokesman Carol Leslie said: “Tesco Express is a small convenience store designed to serve people in the immediate neighbourhood. “We are always on the lookout for suitable new sites all over the country and have been working on a number of opportunities for some time in Oxford.

“We think the Fox and Hounds site in Abingdon Road is an excellent location for our Express format. We have submitted two applications, one just for a Tesco Express and another for a Tesco Express with four apartments above. These applications give the council, and the local community, a chance to consider what they feel is most appropriate for the site.”